Facial Palsy UK was set up in 2012 in response to the observation of the very disjointed or one-dimensional care that patients with facial palsy sometimes receive. This gave us the resolve to develop a more holistic, multi-disciplinary approach. When we audited patients with facial palsy, we discovered that the average time since their paralysis began to receiving treatment was almost 6 years.

Their stories of suffering and isolation are so powerful that it is vital for Facial Palsy UK to improve access to better treatments.

The major problems we have identified are i) delayed diagnosis leading to poor outcomes, ii) lack of awareness in the medical community of suitable treatments and little understanding or provision for the huge psycho-social implications of losing one's ability to smile and the use of one side of one’s face.

A major aim is to highlight to GPs and other health professionals which patients need referral to specialists, and to provide support networks to reduce the sense of isolation that many patients expressed.

In addition to raising awareness, we aim to raise funds to support clinical and basic science research in the hope that one day everyone suffering with facial palsy will be given back their smile.

Exciting possible future avenues of research include the use of synthetic muscle powered by sensors on the unaffected side of the face, and the identification of growth factors which can be used to speed up the recovery rate after nerve damage.